Path to Leadership
by L'assassin orange
Summary: Discover a world in which Kazuto's grandfather, by love for his grandchild, decided to help Kazuto with his doubt about his family. A world during which Kazuto, full of confidence, decided to help Klein and his friends, and tried to help everyone by sharing his knowledge and experience fully. How will this change the world of Sword Art Online?
1. The calm before the storm

Hello readers! This short note is here to explain that, being my first fan-fiction, there will be a lots of error. So, feel free to point them out, with if possible cordiality, it will be really appreciated and it will help me in the long term!

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** «**_Players, I welcome you all to my __**world**__**.**_**» **

_** Kayaba Akihiko, **tutorial for Sword art Online._

**November 5th, 2022. Day before the «Sao Incident»:**

The shinai raced through the wind, striking it's target weapon and breaking her defense before the second shinai, with lightning like speed, struck it's target.

«Men.(Head)»

The sound of the shinai colliding with the helmet of his adverser reverberated through the dojo. The next instant, a sigh, coming from the smaller Kendoka, was heard before she took an angry stance,and...

"You won, Onichan. _Again!" _pouted Suguha Kirigaya, thirteen years old girl and shooting-star of Kendo. She took her helmet off, her short black hair messy and her skin luising with sweat, her shinai, worn out by practise still in her hands.

"Well, didn't you tell me that you wanted an all-out spar with me to prepare yourself for the competition next month?"Answered with an amused smirk Kazuto Kirigaya, said brother-in-fact-cousin of Suguya,fourteen year old kendo practitioner, national champion and acclaimed prodigy of the discipline, his deep black eyes shining with mirth. His black hair, freed of the helmet which constrain them, in the same messiness than his sister's but his skin still relatively free of sweat. His breath was still steady too, while Suguha's breath was shallow and irregular.

His two shinai were then promptly sheathed at his belt, allowing him to take the water bottle next to him and drink before giving the rest of his water to his sister. With a quiet thanks, she took a deep gulp and released a sigh of satisfaction before sitting on the floor and prompting his brother to do the same.

"Of course I want you to go all out! I don't intend to stay behind you and lose in the quarter again! " Huffed Suguha with an annoyed frown.

"I'm sure you don't. So can I expect you to fight me in the final this time?" Retorted Kazuto cheekily.

"You bet!You better don't lose to anyone but me, or I won't forgive you!I still need to take my revenge for the last time! I'm sure to win the national, this time!"

Ah. The last time referred to the national tournament of last year, when we faced each other in the quarter, and so Suguha didn't have the chance to prove her worth to the jury. Because of it, she swore to beat me in the tournament this year, and gain the title this time. I wouldn't be surprised if she managed to do it by sheer determination. We are after all the same on this point.

Kazuto, after a quick glance to the clock, said with a nonchalant voice. "Well, it's nearly noon, so do you want to make lunch with me, or do you have something better to do?"

Hearing no answer, Kazuto placed himself in front of his sister.

"Sugu?"

"Hmm? Oh, sorry Onichan, you were saying?I... was lost in my thoughts."

"What were you thinking so hard about? Your secret boyfriend maybe?" Asked teasingly Kazuto.

With blood rushing to her head, Suguha quickly negated with the head. "N..No! I... I was just thinking about the past. And Ojisan."

"Oh?" Answered Kazuto plainly. "What about him?"

"Well... you remember when you tried to abandon kendo, and you told it to Ojisan? At the time, you were still quite shy, and a bit cold with me and Okaasan. Well, I always wondered what Ojisan said that make you become so determined and daring. He even made you warmed up to us again, and you showed an interest in Kendo since then!"

Yeah, I remember it very well. It was this conversation that helped me realize how much my family was precious to me, and it cleared the doubt that were lingering my mind. At this time, I was ten years old, and I had just discovered several months ago that my Kaasan was in fact my aunt, making Suguha my cousin, and that they took care of me when my parents died in a car accident when I was just one year old.

For the young me, it was a shock, so I gradually began to distance myself from my family, first being a little colder with them, and it escalated into me trying to abandon kendo, which I had little interest in the past. At that time, Ojisan decided that enough was enough, and gave me a talk which made me realized how foolish I was.

**Flashback:**

Near the dojo of the Kirigaya family, two figures could be seen approaching the entrance. They were small and young, seemingly ten years old or so. In their little hands, a relatively new shinai could be seen, and while the girl happily chatted with her brother, he himself had a small frown on his face.

In front of the dojo's doors stood a tall and muscular man, his brown eyes cold and unwavering. His baldness, his long white beard and the perpetual frown on his face giving him a feeling of sternness. He is Kirigaya Kobayashi, former cops and kendo champion, and Kazuto and Suguha's grandfather. He was wearing his training gear, which composed of a black hakama and a keiko-gi of the same color.

Coming in front of the old man, both Kazuto and Suguha's bowed stiffly while saying "ONEGAÏSHIMASU, Sensei!". They stayed like this, waiting for the answer of their teacher and grandfather.

After a long pause, a grunt like answer of "Go wear your gear and start to run." was heard before Suguha and Kazuto answered "Yes, Sensei!" and Suguha started to go in the dojo.

However, after opening the doors and seeing that Kazuto wasn't coming, Suguha was going to call him on it when suddenly Kazuto place himself in front of his grandpa'.

"Ojisan...No...Sensei. Could I talk to you after the training?It's... important." asked nervously Kazuto, fidgeting under the stare of his ojisan.

Kobayashi, wondering the reason of such a demand, nodded nonetheless before making his way in the dojo with his grandson, joining Suguha who stopped at the door when she heard the conversation and was looking at her brother with a questioning glance. However, seeing the fleeting look in the eyes of her brother, she quickly drop the matter and started to put on her gear along him. It wasn't long before they both began their training.

During the entire training session, he didn't even look once at her in the eyes. Even during their finishing spare, he just keep to obstinately look elsewhere, everywhere but her eyes, and he didn't even try during the fight. He just keep going long enough to not be considered a yielding per say, but still, his lack of efforts were so apparent that you needed to be blind AND deaf to not see it. Several times, their sensei even scold him for it, but he didn't seem to care too much.

At the end of the training session, his hakama sticking to his skin due to the thin layer of sweat and his hair a bit messy, Kazuto went in front of his grandpa' while his sister was taking her gear off, and shyly mumbled: "Sensei...I..."

"Stop beating around the bush and say it already Kazuto. Time is a precious thing."

"I... I want to stop Kendo, Sensei!"shouted Kazuto with as much strength that he could muster, his eyes closed.

When he fearfully started to open his eyes to see the reaction of his grandfather, he could only cowered in fear when he saw that he was absolutely FURIOUS. When said grandfather started to advance toward him, his hand ready to hit him, he closed his eyes and waited for the strike.

However, before this strike could come, a shout of "Please, Ojisan, no!" was heard and when Kazuto opened his eyes again, he saw his cousin Suguha, bowing with her head on the floor their grandfather to not hit him, and he faintly heard her saying that she would "train for the both of them" when Kobayashi caught him by the arm.

"Come with me Kazuto. It's time that you hear something that should have been said a long time ago. I can't stand this pitiful attitude of you any longer. Do NOT follow us Suguha, it is something personal." said he with a gruff voice, before he dragged Kazuto in room located on the ground floor. After he let go of his grandson's arm, he told him to take a seat while he was locking the door.

When he himself took a seat, Kazuto kept his eyes on the floor and never said a word until he heard a sigh coming from his grandfather. When he lifted his eyes to his grandpa, he saw something that shocked him to the core. His grandfather was looking at him with, not anger nor disappointment, but something akin to warm and worry. But he must be seeing things! There's no way than his strict and cold grandfather could be worried about him! However, the voice of his grandpa cut him out of these thoughts quickly:

"Kazuto. When I heard that you had found out about your parents, I somehow knew that you needed to have this conversation. It was probably my... apprehension, that postponed it to later date, when you needed to hear this. So, foremost, for the confusion and the pain that it caused to both you and Suguha, know that I am deeply sorry."

At this point, Kazuto knew that he must be dreaming. There was no way in hell that his grandfather would be apologizing to him in such a way. It's just impossible!

"However, Kirigaya Kazuto! Can you answer me truthfully and honestly, why did you become so distant to your own _sister_? To your own _mother and father_? To your own _family_?!"

"But she's not my sister! And they are not my true parents!"

"Oh? So when they raised you, they didn't raise you like their own son?When they took care of you when you were ill, they didn't cuddle you like their own son? Are you sure that for you, they are not your _true_ parents?"

As he stood there, the mouth agape, speechless, trembling, crying, his grandfather continued:

"When you were playing with Suguha, were you not laughing with your sibling? When she fell ill, did you not took care of her like the big brother you are? When she cried in front on you, did you not cuddle her with your own arms, calming her with a soothing voice, telling her that her big brother would always be here for her!?

At this point, Kazuto, unable to contain himself anymore, broke down crying and shouted:

"I just don't know anymore!I... I love okasan and otousan and Sugu! I really do! But... but why... why didn't they told me... why did they wait for me to discover it!I felt... when I saw it, I felt astonished, I wished with all my strength that it was an hallucination, a bad dream! That I would woke up and laughed it up with Sugu! So, when I asked it to okasan, and when she told me the truth, I felt so..so... so betrayed! I didn't know what to think anymore! I didn't want to hurt them! I really didn't! Please, trust me... I... didn't want... to hurt them...I just..."

Kazuto was sobbing, hugging his knee, crying with a voice so weak, and looking so frail at this instant, that Kobayashi really think that if he touched him, he would broke apart like some shattering glass. So, with gentle movements, he stood up and walked next to Kazuto, before sitting on his knee and hugging him.

When Kazuto felt his grandpa warm embrace,he broke down once more and continued to cry on his grandfather's shoulder, while saying apologize in stride like a mantra. After several minutes, he wiper his eyes with his sleeve, and thanked his grandfather with a weak voice.

Kobayashi, after this, took several step backward before continuing in a soothing voice. "Kazuto. You're a smart child. You have potential. You have so much kindness in you. But you're

full of doubt. You are afraid of making a mistake. And it is your greatest flaw. Do you know why, Kazuto?"

"Because this is your fear of making mistakes, that makes you hurt those who are close to you. I'm sure that you wanted to speak with your mother about your doubts, did you not? But, you were most likely afraid that it would hurt her to hear you say this, so you stayed silent. And these doubt did no vanish, so unconsciously, you hurt her and everyone else by becoming distant."

The child, at the moment, was feeling stupid. He was hating himself. He was trembling with self-loathing. So, he placed himself on his knee, and begged his grandpa, the one's who seemed so wise right now.

"Kobayashi-ojisan... please, tell me what to do so I would never again hurt them..."

At this, his grandfather simply smiled, and placed his hands on his grandson's shoulders.

"It is simple, my grandson:you just need to stop doubting yourself, Kazuto. You just need to have faith in yourself. Because, having doubt just make you weaker, while being determined make you able to make everything you want possible."

Kazuto,awed by the conviction that he could sense in his grandfather's word, could only nod shyly when his grandfather, regaining his seriousness, ask him something that he had completely forget.

"Now that it is said, Kazuto. Do you still want to stop Kendo? I know that you are afraid of my reaction, so I will accept it if you REALLY want to stop, but I admit that I would be disappointed."

Kazuto, remembering his reason of being there in the first place, could only chuckle nervously.

"Well...can I ask you something before Ojisan? Why are you so determined of training me and Suguha in Kendo?"

Kobayashi, after the unexpected question, take several seconds to carefully answer. "The reason for this, is because it is my dream, as a kendo champion, to pass on my knowledge and my skills to my descendants. When my two sons didn't show talents nor interest for Kendo, I was ready to accept that my dream will remain that for the rest of my life. That's why I have so high expectations for you and Suguha, because you both have so much talents! And I'm sure that the talent you have shown was just the tip of the iceberg, because despite your lack of motivation you still were able to follow the training and execute the kata with ease. It is the dream of the old fool in front of you to be able to see my descendants win the national tournament of kendo."

Seeing the bitter smile on his grandfather's face was one of the painfullest thing that Kazuto experimented. Not only was he someone of his family, but this person just helped him with something that plagued him for months.

At this instant, he decided to thank his grandpa by accomplishing his dream within his lifetime. With his new resolution burning in his mind, he stood up and, facing his grandfather, shouted with all the determination he has.

"I will continue Kendo, grandpa. But not only that, I will be a national champion! You'll see! Give me five years... no, three years, and I'll a national champion!You'll be proud of your students; and I'll accomplish your dream!"

"I... Kazuto, I have no doubt you will. Just know that I'm already proud of you and Suguha. Now go, I need to have a little rest, and I think that your sister is worrying a lot about you."

"Yes. I'll be doing just that. Apologize to okasan too, and to otousan when he came back home." Kazuto answered warmly while walking toward the door. "Thank you for everything, ojisan."

Later this day, he apologized to his sister and mother, hugging them and telling them how important they were to him. They returned the hug with tears flowing freely from their eyes, and Kazuto had to promised once more to Suguha that he will never leave her before she agreed to let him go.

Three years later, while his grandpa was watching him from a television in a hospital room, Kazuto won the national Kendo competition. His fiercest match was against his little sister, Suguha, who he won against with his mastery of the Niten Ichi Ryu, his dual sword style that he used for the first time against her. After the final, Kirigaya Kobayashi died of cardiac failure, tears leaking from his eyes and a smile on his face.

**Flashback end:**

"Onisan. Onisan! ONISAN!" Shouted an irrate Suguha.

"Eh...? Ah! Sorry Sugu, I was thinking about the past, me too." apologized Kazuto sheepishly.

"Geez, you're impossible! So, will you answer me or not?You never answered me whenever I asked you before, it is something to personal to say, or...?"

"Ah, that's not it. Well, I just am uncomfortable thinking about it. Maybe, if you win the national, I will tell you." Retorted Kazuto with a smirk.

An instant of silence passed before she sighed and quickly changed the subject. "Okay... So, what do you intend to do after lunch? I'm going with Umeko-san and Taeko-san to the mall. Do you want to come with me?" Asked Suguha in a false nonchalant voice.

Kazuto just chuckled sheepishly, seeing through the display of his sister and explained in a sorry tone "Sugu, today I need to prepare everything for tomorrow. I already told you so yesterday." and going toward the dojo's door continued "I'm going to prepare lunch today, you can take a shower if you want meanwhile, or you can help me cook so it goes faster."

"Tomorrow? You mean your game right... Well,I will help you Onichan! After all, I can't let you cook unsupervised, can I?" coupled with a playful wink which granted her some water on her face courtesy of her amused brother.

The rest of the day was like a blur to Kazuto: he remembered the lunch which was spent in a trivial and lighthearted conversation, then the depart of Suguha. After this, he went to his computer, homemade at the age of 10, and started to read the different interviews and topics about the game which will officially start tomorrow: Sword Art Online!

He was one of the lucky thousands(out of one Million!) who were chosen to be the beta-tester. He still remembered the delightful two months which he spent in this game; even though he was one of the best players, he was at a measly level 12. It was just to show the unimaginable difficulty of the game. And, he couldn't just play to the game, he still needed to practice Kendo of course, but still. And they were only at the 6th floor at the end of beta, while they were one hundred floors to clear!

So, right now, he was just refreshing his memory and looking after news from the creator of the Nerve Gear and the game, Kayaba Akihiko. He always found it amazing that Kayaba never once mentioned it at a "simple game". He always referred it as an other world, something beyond the boundaries of this world. And this game was as close to a world as possible, with it's limitless numbers of NPCs, skills and weapons. The skills went from forging weapons to sewing, fishing or even cooking to those interested, with each their one thousand levels needed to master the skills.

After this, he faintly remembered hearing Suguha telling him to come because dinner was ready. They made small talk during the dinner, Suguha telling about her day of shopping(during which she bought absolutely nothing, to the amazement of Kazuto. She had spent the whole day in the mall for what?!Sightseeing?!), himself advertizing that tomorrow he would skip the morning spar and would probably be playing the whole day till night, and several other unimportant things, before washing the dishes swiftly, brushing his teeth in an instant and trying(unsuccessfully thus far) to sleep. His nervousness and excitation kept him far away from the desired slumber.

**November the 6th, 2022. Day of the «SAO Incident»:**

After countless sighs, he stood up to look at the time, his digital clock taunting him mercilessly with the red figures of 05:48 AM. Resisting the urge to sigh once more, he got out of bed and he turned on his computer,thinking that If he couldn't sleep, he might as well do something meaningful... like searching for any last-minute information once more. Hey, a prodigy in Kendo he might be, but he still loved informatics and computer as much than before! Proof it is of his self-made 24 GHz octa-core PC with it's triple screen, made several years ago already.

Finding no new information, he sighed again and, seeing that it was nearly thirty to nine, decided to make breakfast for his sister and himself, knowing that Sugu usually woke up at nine o'clock, and that her shower took another fifteen minutes (a miracle according to his friends!), he had 45 minutes to prepared it. Well, time to get to work!

Thus, when Kirigaya Suguha entered the kitchen at 09:50, what awaited her was a sumptuous breakfast, with white rice, miso sauce, several shishamo, natto and a cup of tea on the kitchen's table. Her brother was waiting next to the next, a proud smile on his face, while he gestured to her to sat down. The delicious aroma exuded by the food quickly prompted her to started eating, of course after the traditional "Itadakimasu". After fifteen minutes, the table was freed of any food, and two very pleased Kirigaya could be seen washing the empty dishes while conversing lightheartedly.

"It was amazing, Onichan! Is there a reason as to why you worked so hard on the breakfast today?"

"Well, not really, I just felt like it. I had the time too, since I had a bit of trouble to sleep, so I thought why not, and there we are" explained Kazuto with an amused smile.

"Oh? That's all? And me who thought that It was to give me some energy for my kendo training at the club this afternoon. But of course you didn't think about poor little old me." Teased good-heartedly Sugu with a wink.

"O...Of course it is for this too." chuckled nervously Kazuto. "You didn't think that I had forgotten it, right? What kind of shameless brother would forget something as important as this?"

"Riiight. Of course you didn't. This matter apart, when start your gaming spree? You told me that you would played at it the whole day, but I don't remember you telling me this."

"Ah? I must have forgotten. Well, Sword Art Online begin at 1 PM. I want to be prepared thirty minutes before that, so from 12:30 to... said 06:30 PM I'll be playing. Then I will do some light training in Kendo till seven o'clock, and after this I will prepare the dinner to the both of us, sound okay for you?"

"No problem. I should come home between 7:30 PM and 8:00 PM. Don't forget to stop before I come back, or I'll make you!"

"Haha! Don't worry Sugu, you'll come home to find a find a table full of food waiting only you." confidently said Kazuto.

"If you say so." Retorted Suguha with mirth. Having finished to wash the dishes, she dried her hands with a nearby towel while glancing at the clock. "Well, you may don't do YOUR morning training, but I still have MINE to do. So, see you at noon"

Looking at the clock, he saw that it indeed was already twenty past ten. Deciding that his impatience needed to be sated once more, he went to his room and started to read everything about Kayaba Akihiko. Interviews, news, briefing...

Why, would you think? Well, because this man, this genius, was someone that Kazuto respected from the bottom of his heart, that's why!He was the man who ten years ago started alone to develop the technology of the Nerve Gear and the "Fulldive", which is the term used to explain the act of linking to virtual reality. The Nerve Gear itself is like a cask, but in truth it was numerous signal transceivers. By using the electronic signals sent by those transceivers, the gear acceded the user's brain itself. Thus, the five senses didn't use the eyes or the ears, but the signals went directly to the brain. However, it was not all: The Nerve Gear sent fake signals to the brain, but it also blocked the orders that the brain sent to the body. It was a necessity: nobody wanted to ran into a wall, or worse.

Kayaba Akihiko may have started to develop the Nerve Gear alone, but he quickly found a team ready to work with him in the form of Argus. The success of the Nerve Gear, which was the wet dreams of every gamer really, made them go from an anonymous company to the most famous and successful industry of Virtual Reality. However, even though the Nerve Gear was issued, the gamer quickly realized that the game of sport and flight weren't enough: a MMORPG was needed to exploit the full potential of this new reality.

That's why, when Argus published the development of the very first VRMMORPG, developed by Kayaba himself, and started the recruitment of 1,000 beta-tester for the game, named "Swort Art Online", more than one MILLION people sent their candidature. And Kazuto himself was one of the lucky chosen for this unique opportunity !

Looking at the bottom-right of his screen, the figures indicating twelve past noon prompted him to start eating his bento. He wasn't really hungry, but he knew that not eating before Fulldiving for several hours was a bad idea: he already experienced it enough times to know it. Seeing that he still had twenty minutes before the launching of SAO, so he started the installation of his Nerve Gear to his computer. When there was ten minutes left, he heard his sister advertizing him that she went to her club. He told her to do her best.

Five minutes left, he laid on his bed, the Nerve Gear on his head, looking intently at the clock in the top-left corner.

Four minutes left, he remembered that he forgot to prepare some snacks if he disconnected before the dinner, but it was to late now.

Three minutes left, he was starting to feel impatient, his glare trying to force the figures to go faster.

Two minutes left, he mentally reviewed everything he will do when he connect. He should go directly to the nearest NPC weapons store, to buy some sword and start to grind the mob near the starting city.

One minute left, he remembered that he promised to Argo that he will add her on his friends list when he will connect.

Thirty seconds left, he mentally prepared himself to say the magic words.

Twenty seconds left, he humidified his lips.

Ten seconds left, he took a great breath.

Nine...Eight...Seven...Six...Five...Four...Three...Two...One...

Kazuto then shouted with all his conviction, hopes and determination, at 01:00 Am exactly, the words that sealed his fate: **"Link Start!**"

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And that's the end of the first chapter! So, I will explain here some japanese term that I used:

-Onichan, quiete obviously, mean big brother.

-Ojisan mean grandfather.

-okasan and otousan are respectively mum and dad.

-Shishamo is a variety of fish:

-Natto is fermented soya bean, classic of japanese breakfast:

Thank you to have read my chapter, and please leave a review explaining your feelings about it!


	2. The day when everything changed

And here's a new chapter! Twice as big as the first as well. I can only say my deepest thanks to my beta-reader, for his wonderful job and his help. And thus, without any more wait, enjoy~!

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_The sword skills are your lifeline. _

_It will literally mean the difference between a swift death, and an easy victory._

_Beginner's Guide, __«__How to fight__»__ from_ _**The Black Swordsman.**_

Right after his shout, the only thing that Kazuto could see was an extensive white, swiftly followed by cylinders of every colors that he could think of, quickly filling his entire sight at great speed before disappearing. The next instant, the adjustment for every senses, first touch, then sight, hearing, taste and finally smell, were done in a flash, the sign "OK" appearing in less than a second before the windows were discarded and placed on his right. Then, when they departed, the language's window popped up with his last choice, which was of course Japanese. With as much speed as allowed by the system, Kazuto instantly clicked on the OK button, causing the login's window to emerge. Promptly, Kazuto entered his account and password. The presence of a new window, missing during the beta, caused him to loose several seconds before he validated the option to keep his character from the beta, his other self, Kirito. His skills would be reset of course, but he didn't feel like making another avatar when he didn't need to.

At this instant, when he saw the message "Welcome to Sword Art Online", the only feeling that he could discern really among the feeling of joy, nostalgia, excitement and eagerness all mixed up was the feeling of coming back home. The bright blue light blinded him during several seconds, but when he opened up his eyes again, what he saw wasn't the world of Kirigaya Kazuto, Kendo's champion, brother and son, but the world of Kirito, the famed "Black Swordsman", best player of the beta-test, and inhabitant of Aincrad, the flying castle situated in the sky.

Even thought what he saw was just some bushes and several pillars near an entrance to the market, the feeling of belonging to this world was overwhelming. When he quickly looked at his hands, and saw the Beginner Gloves automatically equipped to his character, his feelings became too much to bear.

That's why, he couldn't help himself and a loud "I'm back." was heard from his avatar, a rather nondescript black haired black eyed man, the Beginner gear on him reinforcing the feeling of ordinariness and mixing him with the crowd. However, anybody could feel easily the confidence and strength emanating from him. His assured steps, and the simple fact that he could _run_ immediately after logging him were proof of his experience within the game. That's certainly why, when Kirito ran to the nearest NCP weapons shop, he quickly stopped at the shout of somebody which he swore he had seen somewhere before.

"Hey!You there...Wait up!"

Turning to face this new player, he quickly analyzed the panting newcomer. He was a red-haired man(well, purplish-red really), with brown eyes sparkling with life, and wore a red bandana with yellow streaks. His gear consisted of the beginner gear, like everyone else at this point, and a white cloth underneath his leather armor, contrasting to the blue cloth of Kirito. He also had a small bit of stubble on his chin.

"Yes, what is it?" Answered Kirito swiftly. He wanted to quickly buy his gear and started grinding, because he really didn't feel safe right now. He had several hours to level up quickly, and he fully intended to take advantage of this time. If he spent all day grinding Exp Kirito hoped to be level 5 by the end of the day, which would then make him strong enough to take on safely the special quest of Horunka. The reward from that quest would give him a sword who's basic attack power was good enough for even the third floor, but its strength was it's eight upgrades, making the sword the best weapons until about floor 6.

"You move without the slightest hesitation, so I suppose that you are a beta-tester right?" Klein asked after catching his breath.

Sensing no animosity in his tone, Kirito cautiously answered. "Yes. Is that a problem?"

"No, no! I just, well, kind of wanted to ask you if you were willing to teach a newbie how to play? That's my first time playing Sword Art Online, and I'm a bit lost!Please!" the red-haired player begged while grabbing Kirito by the shoulders.

The Black Swordsman blinked, not having expected that. "Ah?... Well, okay, why not? By the way, I'm Kirito, and you?"

"I'm Klein! And thank you very much Kirito!"

"It's no trouble. I was planning to grind some monsters, so we might as well do it together, right?" Kirito reassured him with a gentle smile."But first, we need to buy a few spare weapons, and some potions. I know a good NPC store that sells everything we'll need at a good price from the beta, and it's not too far from the clearing we'll be fighting in too, so let's go."

With this Kirito ran again, this time with Klein behind him, toward his destination. It took them several minutes before they stopped in front of a common looking store. Klein followed Kirito inside skeptically, a mood that disappeared as he saw the interior of the shop; it was filled to the brim with weapons, foods, potions, shields. It had everything a new player needed to go out into the field.

"Klein, do you have a weapon preference?Something that you are accustomed to, or maybe a weapon that you want to try?" Kirito asked, buying three additional Beginner's Swords, bringing his total to four, as wall as five Health Potions. He finished his purchase by equipping two of the Beginner Swords across his back.

"Well, I always wanted to wield a katana! Can I have one?" Klein pleaded with sparkling eyes.

So, he wanted to be a samurai type, hm? Well, his character did seems like the warrior type, after all.

"Not at the level one, but if you train enough with a curved blade, you can unlock the Katana skill tree pretty quickly." Kirito answered apologetically.

"That's sucks! How quickly are we talking here?" whined the samurai-wannabe.

"Well, I think at the level four hundred at best, and six hundred at worst."

"No way! That would take forever!" The man raged, only to slump and accept it quietly. "...Well, better get started now!" Was the reinvigorated shout of Klein before he rushed to the sickly looking NPC and bought two Beginner Cutlasses, and three Health Potions as advised by Kirito, before going outside the shop.

However, when Kirito started to run again, Klein quickly found a big problem!No, an _apocalyptic_ problem!

"Kirito!" Klein's dismayed cry made his companion spin around, eyes darting around for a threat, only for the red-haired man to look at him piteously and gesture at the swords on the shop counter. "...How do I equip my sword?"

This gave Kirito pause."Are you trying to tell me, that you don't know how to open the menu?...". His voice was as disbelieving as it could be without directly accusing of lying.

The "you're shitting me" tone made Klein blush. "Well, I didn't play in the beta, man!"

"You obviously didn't do the tutorial either!" Kirito's eye twitched before he composed himself, an amused smile on his face. "It was step one."

"There's a tutorial?!" Was his dumbfounded answer.

"..." the silence that followed was thick with disbelief. It continued until a sigh from Kirito broke it mercilessly, followed by a laugh. Klein took no longer than two seconds before breaking and laughing too. Their laugh continued for a good minute, before Kirito swept his eyes with his sleeves and taught to Klein the movement to open the menu. Shortly after, Klein could be seen proudly wearing one of his cutlasses on the left side of his belt.

After this brief laugh, they both ran toward the nearest exit of the starting city, during which Kirito explained to Klein how to place skill in his skill slots.

"And so, when you press on a slot, the different skills that you can learn are shown, and you just have to select one by double-tapping on it. Right now, you have just 2 skills slots, but every ten level you unlock another one. Several skills, like for example your katana skill, wouldn't be available until you clear the prerequisites. I advise you to add right now your "One Handed Curved Blade" skill before you forget. "

"Ah okay, I see. And what do you advice me to place in my second skill slot?" Klein inquired curiously.

At this, Kirito thought hard for several second before he replied "You could use either a "Light Shield" skill, or a "Light Metal Equipment" skill if you want to be a samurai. The shield should be better, because you can only find good Metal Armor later on, not before the fifth floor at least. On the other hand, a shield is always useful, and unless they patched it, the durability of shields is so high in this game you really need to work at it to even break one. It takes days of fighting for them to really wear down."

"A shield?! But I want to be a samurai! Samurai don't use shield!" Klein cried.

Kirito gave him a flat look, "Klein, you do know that you won't have access to Katanas until you're around level forty, give or take ten levels, right? A Curved blade doesn't offer a lot of protection if you block, and while your katana is a lot more versatile, you won't have access to it for a while. Even once you unlock it the benefits of using a shield can't be overstated. Granted, you'll lose some attack power since you'll only have one arm free to swing the katana, but still."

At the end of his explanation, they finally entered the place that Kirito sought:a gigantic grass plain located in the west field, spattered with the occasional tree, and filled with the level 1 creature "Frenzy Boar". They were weak enough that you could train newbies like Klein to use their Sword Skills with relative security, but they still awarded enough experience that grinding here was still viable. He could have lead Klein to the Docile Boar spawning area on the east field, if it was just to train him, but the experience there was really pathetic. They had enough Health Potions to make up for any mistakes.

Placing himself in front of a random Frenzy Boar, he calmly explained to Klein how he intended to teach him.

"Klein, if you need to remember one thing from me, it's that the first motion is the most important. If you can hit a monster with a sword skill in a critical location, there is a big chance that you can kill him in just one or two attacks. Try it, attack this boar here in the neck!"

"Yosha!" was his enthusiastic reply while Klein engaged the Frenzy Boar like a mad dog... only to missed pathetically when the boar moved to turn the other way. Even worse, his fall caught the attention of the Boar that, as it's name implied was instantly frenzied, it's skin turning red and smoke pouring from it's ears as it charged, nailing the poor would-be samurai square in the testicles.

Klein released a high pitched squeal as he crumpled to the ground, clutching his crotch protectively.

"... You do know that you can't feel pain, right?" was the deadpanned reaction of Kirito to this spectacle.

"Ah? Yes, now that you mention it, I don't feel any pain." Klein patted himself with an intrigued expression.

"Well yeah, it's a game. What do you think would happen if they let their players suffer in their games?" Kirito had the urge to facepalm when he saw the stupid look on Klein's face before he seems to finally understand.

"Ah, I see. Yeah, it would be stupid of them to let the pain affect the player. They'd get wimps leaving left and right complaining about it." He seemed so proud of his deduction that Kirito didn't want to break his bubble by announcing that it should have been obvious, so he quickly changed the subject.

"And didn't I tell you that the first attack was the most important?" Kirito scolded with an amused expression.

"Easy for you to say!It moved!" Klein whined with an ashamed and pouting look.

"Of course it moves, it's not a training dummy, it's a live... well, _simulated_, but still living creature." Kirito scooped up a stone with his right hand, and arming his throw, Klein saw easily the stone glowing of a bright red.

"Just take into account how you think the enemy is going to move, aim, and activate your skill; like this!" At the end of his sentence, Kirito threw his stone directly at the Frenzy Boar. His "Throwing" skill, only level 1 still, didn't add any bonus damage to the Basic Pebble and only ended up doing a few damage, but the throw nailed the Frenzy Boar in the snout, doing bonus damage for the critical hit. The Boar swiftly charged at Kirito in reply, only for the beta-tester to simply sidestep the attack and continued to speak with Klein.

"When you perform the correct motion, you can feel something accumulating, charging. Just hold that position until you feel it's ready, and then unleash it!"

"Motion... Motion..." Mumbled Klein as he tried to do the correct motion. Suddenly, he seemed to discover something as he tensed his legs and placed his curved sword behind his head. He then understood what Kirito tried to explain to him. The next instant, his sword was covered in a yellowish aura, prompting Kirito to kick the Boar in direction of Klein with a smile. He then watched with a proud smile as he saw Klein unleashed his Sword Skill **Horizontal**, cutting the boar from his head all the way to his rear. The wounded Boar froze in midair, before its HP bar went in the red and finally, reaching the 0 HP point, it exploded in a thousands of blue polygons with a little bell like sounds.

The result's window, showing the amounts of Col, Exp and items won, prompted Klein to shout in joy."Yeah! I did it! You saw that, Kirito!? Hein!? I was awesome!".

It was of course accompanied by a weird stance, arms in the air and legs bent, which made him look like a fool.

Kirito nodded with a smile "Yeah, I saw it. Congratulation." His hands raising to high-five his new friend. His smile turned devious as he revealed. "But, you know, boars are this game's version of the slime."

Klein looked comically devastated at the news. "WHAT?! No way! I thought it was a mid-boss or something like this!"

Kirito snorted, making a show of looking around at the several dozen other Frenzy Boar meandering about the field. "Of course not. I will admit that they're the more challenging version of the more peaceful Docile Boar though, so at least you started on something more difficult then most?" He said, trying to play to his new friends ego.

It worked, and the other player puffed out his chest. A few seconds of basking in this he finally asked. " What's the difference beside difficulty?"

Kirito was in the middle of throwing a handful of stones at the nearest boar and needed to finish before he could answer. After the fight, he kept the drop window open to show Klein.

Result:

Exp 24

Col 30

Items 2

"Docile Boar don't drop anything, and only offer 10 experience point. Frenzy Boar, on the other hand, can drop Boar Meat, a good material to raise your Cooking Skill with early on, Boar Skin for tailors, a moderate chance of dropping any of the Beginner's items, and offer 20 to 30 general experience." Kirito lectured.

Klein nodded thoughtfully and charged another boar, causing Kirito to shake his head and start monster grinding himself.

Seeing Klein training to do his Sword Skill brought a nostalgic smile to Kirito's face, remembering when he himself was doing the same things during the Beta. The difference was that he died a few times before he got the flow of it, having nobody ready to help him at this time.

"Pretty fun, huh Klein?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's awesome! Say, you mentioned 'general experience' before, does that mean the stuff we get for killing monster doesn't go to our skills? And just how many skills are there anyway?"

Kirito nodded, jamming his swords into the charging Boar's eyes, killing it before he explained. "Yeah, general Exp is the stuff gained from beating monsters and only levels up your Character Level. There's pretty much an uncountable number of skills, ranging from Smithing weapons and armor to Throwing like I used, hiding or even eavesdropping. Whenever these skills are used, they gain experience, so the more you use them the higher they get. In trade off there isn't any magic. Something about the balance of the game and magic not going well together." He excused easily.

"It's pretty audacious, a RPG without magic." Klein remarked as performed another **Horizontal**. However, his short cry of joy at the end of his sentence clearly showed that he personally didn't mind all that much.

A fact that Kirito clearly saw, because he couldn't stop himself from saying. "Yeah, but it's more fun to fight with your own strength right, not just chant some words and watch everything die."

"Of course it is!" Was the spirited answer from a grinning wannabe-samurai.

Finding the grin contagious, Kirito asked with a teasing tone "Well, shall we continue?"

"Yeah! And I bet a lunch I'll be higher level than you by the end of the day! Believe it!"

"Oh? Feeling daring today? Then I guess I need to show you who's the better player, right?" Kirito challenged right back with a carnivorous smile, making Klein gulp a bit when he remembered just who Kirito was.

During their fights, Kirito continued to explain everything to Klein, focusing on the dangers of overusing Sword Skills as he saw Klein using them so heavily. He explained the cooldown time following the activation of a Sword Skill, which could be deadly if someone used them carelessly. He also taught him not to be overkill, and if he saw a monster with low HP, the better way to dispose of it was simple attacks placed precisely and not a Sword Skill, the cooldown time making him a perfect target for a surprise attack, and the exhaustion that came with using them. There wasn't a Stamina Gauge or anything, but Sword Skills in general just involved a lot of movement and exhaustion was a thing that could happen, even in the virtual world. This prompted a question from Klein that left him flabbergasted, a question that's answer would make Kirito famous.

"Say, Kirito?" The redhead asked.

"Hum? What is it Klein? Something bothering you?" Kirito asked nonchalantly while he dodged the charge of two boars simultaneously, easily piercing their necks with his sword**s**.

"How come you can use two swords at the same time? Is it a special skill or something...?I heard several people mutter that the dual wielding was just impossible, because you needed to have a perfect balance or you wouldn't be able to do it since you'd need to power up two different Sword Skills, one per arm."

"Ah? Well, I just happened to be a good Nitoryu kendo practitioner, so my balance with two swords isn't bad, and well it just felt natural over time." Kirito explained while rubbing his head with an uneasy smile.

"What the hell man!? You mean that you're like the only person in the whole game who can do it?" Klein exclaimed loudly.

"Well, I know that in the beta-test I was the only one. I'm sure there are others, or will be others, that might give it a try, but it's definitively something that'll always be uncommon."

"You're so lucky dude!Wait, when you said you're a kendo practitioner, you mean you have experience in a duel?!"

Blushing at this point, his uneasy grin remained plastered on his face. "Yeah... I've done quite a bit of duel during spar and tournaments. But that's beside the point, right?We're here to experiment it all, right? Well, let's go!" And with his shout, he promptly ignored the gaping Klein beside him and took on three Boars. Seeing no movement from Klein he added:"I know someone who is paying lunch tomorrow if he doesn't speed up quickly~!" in a sing-song tone.

Breaking out of his daze, Klein quickly shouted "It's just SOOO unfair!" before hacking again at the boar with his cutlass. It wasn't long before the matter just mind, and they continued to grind until it was well into the afternoon. And sadly for Klein's wallet, Kirito swiftly showed that the beta-test did wonder for one's fighting abilities. While Klein had earned his right to be known as a mighty level 2, Kirito himself ad just barely managed to gain level 3 when they finished. Unknown to Klein, he was actually in the top ten currently playing. Kirito easily placed himself in the first place, the only player in the entire game to be level 3, the second highest player was almost a half a level behind him, just a little above Klein.

Taking a pause for a quick break, they chose a spot near a cliff, offering them a superb view of the landscape, the setting sun in the background.

"It is so wonderful. If I wasn't seeing it myself, I wouldn't have believed it that a game could be so realistic."Klein marveled with an awed voice. "This Akihiko Kayaba guy is truly a genius! I'm really glad to be born at this era."

"You're exaggerating here."

"Hey, it's my first "Fulldive"! Everything is new for me!"

"Oh, so it's also your first time with a game using the Nerve Gear ?"Kirito asked with an interested tone.

"Yeah, I bought everything in a rush when I saw the release of SAO. I consider myself lucky to be amongst the ten thousands players. Well, you're ten time as lucky as me, being able to try the beta version. There were only one thousand among the million of volunteers, after all!"

Kirito, seeing the envy in his voice, rubbed his head awkwardly and said:"Yeah, I really was lucky. I still remembered when I got the mail, I thought it was a joke and I didn't believe it until they sent the Nerve Gear along with the Game. When the factor knocked at my door, I fainted immediately after seeing the package with the Argus logo on it."

"How far did you get on the beta version?"

"In the two months of the beta-test, I only managed to get to level 8. Now, that I know what I'm doing from the start I think I'll be able to get that far within a month." Kirito had a confidant grin on his he proclaimed his goal.

"You're completely addicted, aren't you." Klein mumbled with a somewhat sheepish expression on his face.

"Honestly? During the beta, I couldn't stop myself from thinking about SAO. With theses swords, I can go anywhere I want in this world." Kirito unsheathed his sword, and looked at them in wonder.

"It is a virtual space, but I don't feel like it. For me, it's another world. I feel myself live as much in this virtual world than at my home, in the real world."

Sheathing his swords, he turned to Klein with a calm look and asked. "Do you want to keep grinding? Or maybe you have prepared something?"

"Well, I would love to stay, but..." he paused to look at the in-game clock "I ordered a pizza for half past five, so I need to log out." While he stood up, he seemed to remember something important and said with an exited tone:" Say, Kirito. I have planned to meet up with several friends of mine that I met in an another game, so do you want to add them on your friend list?"

Seeing Kirito looking perplexed for a moment, he quickly added while gesturing frantically "Of course, there's no need to feel obligated!I can ..."

Before he could continue, Kirito smiled fondly and quickly assured him:, " I would be honored to have them on my list, don't worry."

Blinking furiously, Klein whispered something unintelligible before he seemed to understand what Kirito said because he suddenly perked up and shouted with as much excitation as a kid "Seriously?! Thanks dude, that's nice from you! I send you the names right away!"

After adding his five new friends, Kirito suddenly felt a cold chill when he saw something disturbing.

"Klein... Tell me, do you see the Logout button on your main menu? At the very bottom?!"

Hearing his generally cool friend's shout, Klein quickly threw a worried look at the blank space where the button was supposed to be before whispering in an horrified voice "No Kirito... I don't have one either..." He seemed to shocked himself out of his funk because he added " It IS the first day, so it was bound to have several bugs, right?I'm sure the direction is working to fix it!" with a nervous chuckle.

"Well they better hurry." Kirito tried to joke as he looked at the clock, reading 17:25

Klein shouted to death about his 'teriyaki mayonnaise sauce pizza and his ginger ale' while Kirito couldn't shook the disturbing feeling that something wasn't right about this whole mess... apart from Klein's really bad taste in pizza. The next question from Klein quickly made him realized why exactly.

"Kirito, isn't there another way to logout?"

Feeling his unsettling feeling arise once more, he quietly answered "No. If you want to disconnect spontaneously, the player must go through the menu. Even in the manual, there were no way to do any sort of "emergency disconnection" due to how the hardware was set up."

"You're kidding right? And what if we take the Nerve Gear off?" Klein asked while trying to take an invisible helmet off.

"It's useless. The Nerve Gear intercept the signals sent by your brain, so no matter what, your body in the real world will stay still."

"So we need to wait until the bug is corrected?"

"You may also wait until someone in the real world disconnects your Nerve Gear." continued Kirito with a sense of foreboding still anchoring him in place.

"But I'm living alone. What about you?"

"My little sister will come back in two hours, so I supposed she will disconnect me at this time."

Quicker than lightning, the arms on Klein gripped my arms and he said emotionally "How old is your sister!?"

Sighing at how swiftly his friend forgot about their situation, Kirito answered him coldly:"First, she is a bit young for you, Second, she doesn't like video games and the like, and finally, she's really into sport, she has barely anything in common with the like of us" before kicking him in the groin, making Klein roll on the floor in faked pain before he remembered that the game didn't add this feature.

"But seriously Klein, doesn't it freak you out?"

"Of course it does, It is a big bug after all!"

Seeing that Klein didn't understand what he meant, Kirito explained his thoughts. "That's not a simple bug. Being unable to disconnect is a big problem for the future of VRMMORPG."

"Yeah, saw like this, of course it is..."

"So why didn't they stop the servers? If it was a bug, they would just do this and proceed at a massive forced disconnection, but there was no announcement made..."

Suddenly, the sound of a bell seemed to echo across the entire floor. This majestic sound however, brought to both Klein and Kirito a nerve wracking anxiety. The bright blue light that suddenly surrounded them really didn't help them calm down. The tugging feeling that they felt was quickly recognized by Kirito, who shouted "It is a forced teleportation! But why the GM...".

The rest of his sentence was lost because they suddenly found themselves at their starting point, The Grand Place of the Starting City.

The anxious not-so-quite mumble of the crowd started to affect them, when suddenly a shout from a nondescript player calmed for a short time the crowd. "Look, up here!". A single red WARNING sign could be seen, before suddenly it started to expand and covered the entire sky with the signs System Announcement. Shortly after this, a red liquid like blood started to flow from them, and shaped the form of a gigantic Game Master outfit. However, it was different from a standard GM, and it was what scared the players: the GM couldn't be seen under the clothes. The mantle was flying in midair above the gamers, and even the white gloves were empty.

Question like, "Is that a Game Master?", "Why it doesn't have a face" or even the hopeful "What event it is?" were flowing like an endless stream amongst the shout of "I'm scared!" and "What is happening!?". Of course, several players kept a cool facade and quickly reassured them with words like "It's okay, it's just part of the opening ceremony."

They all became silent when the red figure of the supposed-GM started to speak, slowly lifting his whites gloves and spreading them apart on an embrace like gesture.

"**Players, I welcome you all to my world.****" **It had a deep voice, obviously male, and it had a soothing effect on the Kirito couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go_horribly wrong_**. **And _his_ world? Well, he was a GM and the creator, so it could be considered his world, but why did it feel like there was something else meant by this word?

"**My name is Kayaba Akihiko. Right now, I am the only person who can control this world.**** "**

At these words, Kirito remembered the interviews that he read in his room. Kayaba _never _spoke about SAO like a game, he always spoke about it like if it was another dimension, something that couldn't exist in the real world so it was created elsewhere. He gasped when he thought about it, and prayed that his doubts were just from paranoia. Sadly, it wasn't to be.

"**I think that most of you have discovered the fact that the Log Out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug; it is all part of «Sword Art Online»'s system. Until you get to the top of this castle, you cannot log out of your own free will. "**

At this moment, Klein and Kirito exchanged a glance but stayed silent. However, both their minds were working overtime, trying to find another explanation to this scheme, but they both knew that it was the truth. If not their brains, the guts feelings they'd both been feeling for the past thirty minutes ago told them so.

"**...also, the disruption or dismantling of the Nerve Gear from the outside is strictly forbidden. If these things are attempted... the signal sensors in your Nerve Gear will emit a strong electromagnetic pulse, destroying your brain and stopping all of your basic functions. To be a little more specific, disconnection from an outside source of electricity for ten minutes, being cut off from the system for more than two hours, or any attempt to: unlock, dismantle, or destroy the Nerve Gear. If any of these conditions are met, the brain destruction sequence will start. "**

The crowd's mumble and shout could be heard now, everyone was trying to voice his disbelief, nobody really thought that it was the truth at this moment, just a sick joke from the GM for his introduction. They were all waiting the sentence announcing that it was a prank, and to enjoy the game, but sadly, the following sentences were just going to make them plunge in despair.

"Kirito, he's gotta be nut's right? There's no way a Nerve Gear could fry our brain."

"He's right, Klein. The transceiver's microwaves signals are just like those in a microwave oven. If the limiter were disabled, it could fry our brains." Kirito was deep in thought, not trying to deny what is happening, but thinking about the best course of actions.

"Why don't we just cut the power, then?" asked Klein with a hopeful voice.

Kirito quickly crushed his hopes with a blank voice:"The Nerve Gear has an internal battery."

"That's just messed up! What is going on!?"

"Listen, Klein. That's the only thing we _can_ do for now." Kirito mumbled pensively.

"**These conditions have been made known to the government and the public through mass-media in the outside world. On that note, there have been several cases where the relatives or friends have ignored the warnings and tried to forcefully remove the Nerve Gear. The result...****" **The monotonous voice took a short breath.** "****...regretfully 213 players have already exited this game, and the real world, forever."**

"Already 213 players...!" whispered Kirito, shocked by the high numbers of death in just several hours.

"I don't believe it..." was the equally disbelieving voice of Klein.

The crimson clothed Kayaba continued with the same calm voice as before, while opening many windows of video and newscast. **"****Players, there is no need to worry about the bodies you left on the other side. As of this moment, all TV, radio, and Internet media are repeatedly reporting this situation; including the fact that there have been numerous deaths. The danger of having your Nerve Gear taken off has already all but disappeared. In a moment, using the two hours I have provided, all of you will be transported to hospitals or similar institutes and be given the best treatment. So you can relax... and concentrate on beating the game."** On the windows, photo's of victims and their family were shown, each crying of grief and disbelief.

At this point, Kirito forced himself to stay calm and placed his hand on Klein's shoulder for support and help him to stay calm too.

"**But I ask of you all to understand that «Sword Art Online» is no longer a simple game. It is a second reality... From now on, any form of revival in the game will no longer work. The moment your HP reaches 0, your avatar will be gone forever. And at the same time...****" ** The GM paused.

Klein and Kirito both knew what this meant. Kayaba wouldn't let them escape this easily. The only other alternative was...

"**...your brain will be destroyed by the Nerve Gear.****" **

These words, spoken with a clear but soft voice, reasoned like if they were shouted. There was an absolute silence during several seconds, each brains processing what his words meant.

Both Kirito and Klein tensed, Kirito remembering each time he died in the beta, and Klein how close to death he came on several occasions.

"**Players, there is only one way to be freed from this game. As I have said before, you must get to the top of Aincrad, the one hundredth floor, and defeat the final boss that resides there. All players still alive at that time will be immediately logged out of the game. I give you all my word.****" **He showed to every player a holographic representation of Aincrad.

"**You are currently on the 1st floor, the lowest level of Aincrad. Make your way through every dungeon and defeat the Floor Boss, and you will advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on the 100th floor, and you will clear the game."**

At these words, the less informed gamers were confused. "Clear? What's he talking about?", while the others were shouting their disbelief. "It's easier said than done!" or "It's impossible!" were common.

"Clear a hundred floor? But Kirito, didn't you said me that..."

"Yeah, we, the beta-tester, only went as far as the 6th floor."

However, even though the players were mumbling, there was no panic or despair. It probably was because they all thought that it was just a seriously warped opening event, because it was just so horrifying that it felt unreal.

Akayaba started speaking again with a voice devoid of emotion. **"Then I will show you evidence that this is the only reality. In your inventories, there will be a gift from me. Please confirm this."**

All the players in the plaza did the same motion, the sound of ringing bell sounding eerily out of place with the grave atmosphere. Seeing the new object, both Kirito and Klein pressed the "Make into Object" button, and observed the small rectangular mirror in their hands. It was just like the genuine article, showing their avatar's faces, and Klein and Kirito exchanged once more a glance before a bright white light engulfed every player on the plaza during several seconds.

When the light disappeared, Kirito could only look with amazement the intriguer change: his avatar face was replaced by the real Kazuto's face! Looking around, he saw that not only their face, but also their build were changed. Looking at the player on his right, who he supposed was Klein, he asked nonetheless.

"You're Klein, right?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm Kirito, isn't it obvious?" asked the black haired teen with amusement. Klein, like Kirito himself, had set his body height to equal his real height. However, His eyes were now a big brighter, his nose became hooked, and his beard more pronounced maybe, while his old purplish-red straight hair became a brownish-red spike. All in all, he became more bandit-like .

"So Kayaba's present was this, uh?" he started to ponder how the Nerve Gear managed this when Klein voiced his thoughts.

"But how can it know how our bodies look like? I mean, our faces, I can understand, but our bodies? Ah... Wait... yes! I remember! I bought the Nerve Gear yesterday, so I remember that there was something called calibration? Well, it asked you to touch your body in several places, so maybe it was...?"

Kirito made a hollow laugh when he realized something. "When he said that it was a reality,... In order to make us believe it, he produced a perfect copy of our real body..."

"But Kirito, do you know why? Why he's doing something as crazy as this...?"

Kirito sighed and answered with the calmest voice he could manage. " I already told you Klein. Listen, that the only way you'll be answered."

Like if he heard what Kirito said, Kayaba continued with a solemn voice. "**You will all most probably be wondering, "Why." Why am I —the creator of both the Nerve Gear and SAO, Kayaba Akihiko— doing something like this? Is this a sort of terrorist attack? Is he doing this to ransom us?" **

At this, Kirito almost snorted: he was already one of the richest man of the world, but he never showed even the slightest interest in spending his money.

"**These are not the reasons why I am doing this. Not only that, but for me, there is no longer a reason or a purpose in doing this. The reason is because... this situation itself was my purpose in doing this. To create and watch this world is the only reason I have created the Nerve Gear and SAO. And now, everything has been realized." **

Kirito could swore that Kayaba sound... empathic? However, the emotion was quickly squashed away, so he must had dreamed.

"**...Now, I have finished the official tutorial for «Sword Art Online». Players—I wish you luck." **

His voice seemed to trailed off with a faint echo, even when the red hooded figure rose into the system message which covered the sky. Just after its empty legs melted in the sea of red, the system message disappeared as suddenly as it appeared, leaving the disoriented players at their fate.

During several seconds, the only sounds that could be heard was the wind blowing above the plaza, before, finally, the players gave a proper reaction to this whole mess. They panicked.

"Stop joking around! Stop your fucking messed-up event and let us log out!"

"You can't do this!? I've got a job meeting tomorrow!"

"Please! I beg you! Let me get out of there!"

Kirito spoke with with as much composure as he could "Klein, where are these friends of yours right now?"

"Hum? Well, they must be somewhere at the plaza, but..." Klein hesitated.

"Go met with them. I've got something to do."

Klein widened his eyes so much that they should had popped. "But... And you... Where are you going?"

Seeing his trouble, Kirito just gave a kind smile and said "Don't worry, I'm not leaving you alone in this mess. But someone has to calm them, right? Or they might panic and do something reckless."

Klein, after a short sigh of relief, then gave Kirito a thumb up and said "Okay dude. I met up wit you after your speech?"

"Of course. See you soon Klein." was his quick answer while Kirito started to run toward the center of the plaza, where a raised platform was situated near the clock. He climbed up on the platform and, mustering all his remaining strength, shouted, trying to be heard amongst the curses, cry for help and the likes.

"CALM DOWN!"

Kirito's shout reverberated through the plaza, prompting every nearby players to unconsciously look at him while their cry steadily shut down. Seeing all these disoriented glazes directed at him made Kirito take a quick breath to calm his nerves, which were near the breaking point.

"Everyone, I know it is some really shocking news. I'm pretty much sure a lots of us think it is just a sick joke or something like this, and I really hope that it is."

'I suck so much at inspiring speeches!' Kirito whined internally. However, he quickly continued nonetheless, because he was pretty sure that if he stopped, he would lose his nerves and run away.

"However, in the probability that it is the absolute truth, and sadly this is a pretty certain probability, don't do anything reckless. If it is just a prank, I will be the first one to laugh at it and say " Yeah, we were fools". But if it isn't, I want you to think carefully if you're ready to gamble your life like this."

Suddenly, cries of "Who are you first?!" and "How could you help us?! You look like a child!" erupted.

Kirito took a deep breath, doing his best to mimic his grandfather. The man may have been old, but when he was alive an aura about him that made you follow what he said, a natural commander. "My name is Kirito. During the beta-test I became known as The Black Swordsman. Me and nine hundred and ninety nine others like me explored this game for two months, learned it's secrets, and mastered the art of staying alive as best we could. If that means anything to you, please listen to me. I can assure you, if you don't know this game, the probability that you don't die,even once, is near zero percent."

At this cold truth, the now silent players were left gaping.

"I'm not going to sugar-coat it. It's the truth. And this is why I ask all of you to meet me here, at this exact place tomorrow, after you get the night to calm down and think carefully about your choice. You can either choose to hide there, in the Starting City, if you feel that you are unable to fight. You can try to live a relatively normal life, waiting for the others to clear this game. You can also help the players on the field by exercising a job, like becoming a blacksmith, tailor, or merchant. Or you can go on the field, killing monsters and helping actively to the clearance of the game. Tomorrow, I ask,no, I _beg_ every beta-tester, if you can teach someone, or even a group of people how to fight, how to forge, how to _survive,_ to help me teach the newcomers, I will be eternally grateful."

Kirito then made a bitter smile. "We were one thousand strong, that's true, however I'm not stupid enough to think that all of them will come. Even now, I can feel the urge nagging at me to flee, to run to the fields outside the city and level up as fast as I can, use my knowledge to gain the best items possible to secure a safe lifestyle for myself and leave everyone else here. Again, I beg, to my fellow beta tester, _resist. _These people need all the help we can give. This gave was a breakthrough in technology, and I'm willing to bet my life a good chunk of the players here are not gamers, but merely people who wanted to try out this new invention in mankind's history. Could you live with yourself, knowing that all these people, that we could have saved, _died _? I know I couldn't."

"If even one tenth of them, even if only one hundred beta-tester can help me, can help _them, _then we might be able to save so many lives. And if you don't feel comfortable doing this, then begin working on the guidebook for new players. I know there was talks about all the strongest and most skilled players getting together and making a how-to guide once the game went public, and... well, the time is here. The faster we get this guide completed the better informed everyone will be. For those who forgot, contact Argo for the details."

Feeling like he forgot something, he added quickly "If you decided nevertheless to go outside and try to level up, don't go alone: forming a party is the safer, and generally quicker, way to gain experience without risking your life uselessly. Remember, just because this game was set up a certain way in the beta doesn't mean it's going to be the same, so beta testers, don't rely completely on the knowledge you've gained."

Seeing all those tired, but now hopeful glazes directed at him made Kirito feel something swelled up in his chest: it was pride, and hope. He then threw a tired smile at the crowd. "I advise everyone to take a good night of rest, and we will meet up here tomorrow at noon. Is there... any question?"

Hearing nothing, except the occasional whispers, he finished with a swift "Thank you for your attention." before he localized the red-haired head of his friend, near the end of the crowd, and walked over to him. When he finally reached Klein, he quickly made him understand to follow him before he continued his road, finally stopping near the NPC shop that they'd shopped in earlier.

"Man, I didn't think that you had that in you to do a speech to ten thousand people like that! By the way, it was awesome!" The ever energetic Klein even gave a thumb up to Kirito.

"Stop teasing me! I'm not at ease in front of a crowd, and if I could have done it differently, trust me I would have! It was the only way to stop them from breaking down..." mumbled Kirito with a blush. Quickly changing the subject, he asked with a soothing smile. "So... introductions?" He requested, gesturing toward the happy bunch that followed them.

"Yeah, of course! Well, there's the friends I told you about, so..."

The nearest one, which also seemed the more level-headed, introduced himself quietly. "You can call me Issin. Nice to meet you." He had spiked brown hair, and a very angular face.

Next, the youngest looking, a black haired men, followed with a timid smile. "Hi... I'm Harry One."

After him, a chubby and friendly looking man with short curly black hair shook hands with me while saying energetically " And I'm Dale. So you're this incredible swordsman that Klein didn't stop talking about? Kirito was it?" to which the boy in question could only offer a strained smile.

He was shortly followed by a mustached man, wearing a red bandana covering the entire top of his head, with a slightly stern look. "I'm Dynamm."

Finally, a bluish-black haired man, offered me a broad smile and shook my hand while introducing himself "I'm called Kunimittz"

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Kirito." He offered a polite smile, still a little uneasy between all these old friends.

"Yosha! So now that the introductions are done, what was that, Kirito? Do you plan to teach every player of SAO?"

"Well, it's obvious that I won't be able to teach them alone, but if the other beta-tester come, and if we discount the players who'll stay on the city, it should be enough. Just a question, everyone: I'm going to a village somewhere near the forest, a place called Horunka. At this place, there's a quest that offer the best one-handed sword until the sixth floor, so how many of you are going to need one? If it is just one or two swords, I should manage to come back in time for the meeting."

After a quick glance between them, Harry One and Dynamm lifted their arm.

"That should do. What about the rest of you? I know Klein use a curved sword, and maybe a shield, but what weapons are you using? I should be able to find something on my way."

"Well Issin and Kunimittz use polearms, and Dale sticks to two handed maces. But are you sure you'll be able to do it? It's already six PM." Klein asked with a worried tone.

Kirito, after noting this on his bloc-note, reassured Klein while running toward the nearest exit: "Don't worry, the village is just twenty minutes away from here with the shortcuts that I know. I will have a short night, but it should be worth it. Teach them how to use Sword Skills before going to the inn, Klein!"

With these parting words, Kirito left the Starting City in direction of Horunka Village, not knowing that during his short traveling, he would save the lives of several people who ignored his advices, or had rushed out before hearing it, earning him the moniker of "The Black Savior"

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The end! So, like before, please leave a review with your feelings, even negatives, if it can help me improve, everything goes ^^ See you soon!


	3. Preview chapter 3

Hey guys! Sorry to make you wait so long, but I have a mix of an immense writer block, a really busy schedule and my own laziness which prevented me from writing this chapter! So, as an apologize, here is a little preview of the chapter three!

Enjoy =]

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Traveling toward his destination, and killing the occasional monster on his way, Kirito tried to plan his course of action for the near future. He needed to find just, what, _four_ Anneal Blade, and then just two polearms, one Two-Handed mace and a Curved Sword ? Which sounded like the easiest thing in the world when you're still level 3 and the monsters you needed to kill were twice that, right?

Cursing himself for his boasting, he spoke his thought aloud to clear his mind.

"So... If it didn't change since the beta, the four blades should take me around five, maybe six hours to get. After that, I should go the Dire Wolves Den to get the curved blade for Klein, and the gift for my dear little info broker - who is greedy as hell. Should take... between thirty minutes and fifty minutes. Then I can either go to the Ruin Kobold Trooper spawn to get Dale's mace, or I could get the two polearms with the Frail Stone Golem. Looting these three weapons should take another two hours, so at the very least I could be back to the Starting City for... erm... thirty past three AM? Then I can get six or seven hours of sleep, and after this I can take my time and prepare the meeting cautiously and carefully. It won't do to screw up with this much people involved."

Sighing at his already busy schedule, he couldn't stop himself from mumbling jokingly "I should have stayed quiet and let them panic."

The sudden sounds of fighting however quickly jerked him from his slightly morbid thoughts, making him stop immediately. After a quick verification that he didn't just hear things, he ran with all the speed his AGI stats allowed him, immensely worried at the thought of a newbie trying to fight this close to the forest. His worries were soon proved founded when, after another hill climbed, he finally saw what could rapidly degenerated in a carnage: a handful of players, Kirito mentally counted four, were encircled by what appeared to be an entire pack of Dire Wolves. And by an entire pack he meant a full _twenty five_ massive wolves! Swiftly scanning the ground, Kirito saw, to his utmost relief, that nobody was killed: the ground was bare of any gear and swords or the like.

Berating himself for being relieved when the four players, who were apparently paralyzed by their fear, were still in an imminent danger, he quickly unsheathed his Beginner Swords and shook them out of their funk... in his own way.

"What are you doing, standing there isn't monsters ready to gut you?! Regroup and fight back!" Kirito shouted after having efficiently dispatched two of the wolves with a sneak attack, and standing in the middle of this circle of death made by the twenty-three remaining wolves.

Seeing their disoriented gazes, the Black Swordsman instantly knew that they needed something more accurate than this: they were more or less rendering mindless by the sheer shock and fear that they must had felt.

Analyzing their gears with a practiced ease, he mentally praised them for their well-balanced group of two tanks and two damage dealers, just before he reviewed plans after plans of battle, each with a pretty gruesome end if his instincts were correct. After what seemed like interminable hours, but were in fact mere seconds thanks to the adrenaline-like effect of this death-game, he finally found a basic formation which should, hopefully, be enough to save every single one of them.

"Listen here! I will open a passage for you, go with the Shields bearer on the flanks. You two with your sword! You'll take care of the rear. After the passage is opened, I let you take care of the front while I go back inside the wolves formation. With me so far?" Kirito ordered with a stern look, looking into the eyes of each one when he informed them of their roles. They seemed to squirm, like children who were just told that they needed to tidy their rooms.

"Then, we'll take them in a pincer movement, and if we do it correctly, the wolves should be disoriented for a while, and we would be able to not only get out of here in one piece, but also win a fair amount of Col and Exp. No objection?" Kirito, not even waiting for their answers, finished with a softened expression and a somewhat teasing smile. "Good. You can object after I save you from these guys. Be ready to go at my signal!"

His tease seemed to have soothed their nerves a little, because they all nodded with a still nervous smile on their faces and got themselves in position.

Kirito observed the monsters, who during their little strategy planning came back to their senses and tightened their deadly round. They were at a good eight meters from them. '_Still too far for the plan.'_ Kirito thought anxiously with a bit of sweat forming on his forehead. They slowly, ever so slowly neared until, when they were a mere four meters away from the group of Players. When he saw the wolves tense, preparing themselves to jump, the Black Swordsman finally gave the order his fellows were waiting for with baiting breath.

"Now!"

As if a dam broke, the wolves all jumped at the same time... but unfortunately for them, it was already too late. The party had in fact already dispatched a section of the pack, leaving the sixteen survivors no time to recover from this when a black blur came back in the middle of the monsters and started to hack at them with deadly efficiency, effectuating what could only be called a dance in a symphony of howls, moving his twin swords with a grace learned from countless hours of training, activating one Sword Skill after another in an endless barrage of colorful sparks. It wasn't to say however that the little group of adventurers was waiting idly beside him; they weren't as effective as their black-clad counterpart, and certainly less graceful, but they were still damn good and had something to prove.

While Kirito was playing the decoy (and a particularly murderous one at that), his four unnamed allies were doing exactly like he planned. During their escape, they didn't just escape the assault of the wolves peacefully, they completely destroyed the left flank of the monsters' formation. And so, they immediately started the second step of the plan, AKA attack in a pincer like movement. The little group of two shield-bearers and two swordsmen split up in two and launched their attacks on the north and south, the wolves being completely disoriented and unable to defend against the coordinated assault from Kirito on the inside and from their four foes on the outside. This confusion resulted in their doom, and when they finally started to defend against the multiple attacks, their number was reduced to a few wolves who once were the East side of a formation.

"Nicely done. We just have to take care of these four and then you can go back to the city in one piece. At my signal..." Kirito congratulated his companions with a grin, the tension in his voice gone.

However, luck seemed to shift when one of the swordsman, whose overconfidence could have cost him his life, attacked alone the four survivors, charging them with a battle roar. Of course, in a normal situation, this player should have been able to take care of them one per one, with some trouble maybe, but what made it so dangerous was that he didn't think to check the durability of his gear. And it soon proved to be a dramatic mistake, as his sword disappeared in a bright blue light of polygons.

"What th-! My sword!... No!"

And the wolves, not willing to let such a golden occasion pass, immediately lashed out. They grabbed the arms of the unfortunate with their claw and fangs, and, with a strength that they didn't seem to have seconds ago, started to shred him with a desperation matching his own when he saw his lifeline, his Health , decreasing with an absurd speed, already one fourth of it gone in just a few seconds.

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And that's all for the moment! See you soon for the full chapter ;)


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